Description

When the agent executes a command via the exec tool that returns a non-zero exit code, the error output is sent as a visible message to the active WhatsApp/Telegram channel (i.e., to the client the agent is currently chatting with).

This is a serious issue for production deployments where the agent handles customer-facing messaging.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Agent is processing a WhatsApp message from a client
2. Agent runs a command that fails, e.g.: find ~/workspace/clients/ -type f | xargs grep -l "123456789" (grep returns exit code 1 when no match found)
3. The error output (Command exited with code 1) is sent as a WhatsApp message to the client

Real Examples

• find ~/clawd/clientes/ -type f | xargs grep -l "675604689" 2>/dev/null failed: Command exited with code 1 → sent to client via WhatsApp
• Read: ~/clawd/memory/clientes/684208483.md failed: ENOENT: no such file or directory → sent to client via WhatsApp
• Cross-context messaging denied... → sent to client as audio message via WhatsApp

Expected Behavior

Exec tool errors should NEVER be forwarded to the active messaging channel. They should be:

1. Returned to the agent context only (so the agent can handle it gracefully)
2. Optionally logged to a debug/admin channel
3. Never visible to the end user/client

Current Workaround

We instruct the agent via system prompt to always append 2>/dev/null || true to every command. This works most of the time, but is not 100% reliable since it depends on the LLM following the instruction consistently.

Related Issues

• [Bug]: API Error JSON in message #919 — Similar class of bug, but for API errors (HTTP responses from Claude API leaking to Telegram). Fixed in PR Embedded runner: suppress raw API error payloads #924. Our bug is the same pattern but for the exec tool path, which appears to not have the same fix applied.
• [Bug]: Clawdbot just mass messaged about 20 of my WhatsApp contacts with configuration message #834 — Internal pairing codes broadcast to WhatsApp contacts (same symptom category: internal content leaking to channels)

Environment

• OpenClaw version: 2026.2.3-1
• Channels: WhatsApp + Telegram
• Runtime: direct (no sandbox)
• Model: Claude Opus
• OS: macOS